Production at All Sugar Plants of Belarus Stopped :: Charter'97 :: News

Sugar production has been stopped at all four sugar refineries of Belarus, in Zhabinka, Haradzeya, Slutsk and Skidel. Today the Belarusian delegation headed by vice Prime Minister Ivan Bambiza departed to Moscow to sign an agreement on Belarusian sugar deliveries to the Russian market in 2007 – 2008.

As the Radio Svaboda was informed in Belarusian State Food Industry concern, its director Ivan Danchanka leaves for Moscow today. An agreement on sugar deliveries is planned to be signed before the session of the Council of Ministers of the so-called “union state” planned for March 23 in Minsk. It hasn’t been signed yet, and representatives of the concern refuse to comment on the situation at sugar enterprises in Belarus.

Meanwhile, production has been stopped at Skidel sugar plant, as well as at Zhabinka sugar plant. Radio Svaboda has been informed about that by a deputy managing director of the enterprise Alyaksandr Eutukhovich:

“The production has been stopped, as the season of beetroots processing is finished. Now we have a pause. Since April 1 renovation works are to start. As for workers, they are in a leave now. We are not afraid now. We hope for improvement of the situation. We think we would work and we plan that. And we’ll see what the future would bring”.

An analogous situation has shaped itself at Slutsk sugar plant. The enterprise is not working, and workers are on leave. A deputy director of the enterprise Valery Nalyotau recalls European experience when speaking about season character of the work:

“All sugar refineries in Europe work seasonally. On one hand, we have reached what we wanted. The Belarusian industry started to make sugar from local raw materials, white beet. And we make enough for the home market.

While we had Russian market, we produced unrefined sugar and sold a considerable quantity to Russia. Now this market is in fact closed for us. Now we are to work like European plants, German in particular. We are to work for about 100 days”.

As said by the deputy director of Slutsk sugar refinery, job cut is not planned this year. As for a search of new markets, Slutsk enterprise has already sold a small amount of sugar to the EU and Central Asia.

As the head of the marketing department of Haradzeya sugar refinery Alyaksandr Narkevich told to the Radio Svaboda, the enterprise experiences a shutdown.

“We are to start work on March 19. We are to work on raw sugar. Others are not working, and we are to work. The situation has deteriorated. But we are entering other markets. Russia is not the only market. We have Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Abkhazia… We held talks with Iran. We are going East,” told Mr. Narkevich.

Previously Belarusian sugar plants delivered from 400 to 450 tons of sugar to Russia annually. Last year sugar deliveries to Russia dropped by 50%, and discontinued at all since January. Analysts connect that with energy row with Russia, among other reasons.

In January a compromise decision on limiting deliveries of Belarusian sugar to Russia was adopted in talks in Moscow. Belarus is to decrease sugar deliveries to Russia almost twofold, to 180 thousand tons, and in 2008 deliveries are to reach 100,000 tons. Belarusian government has approved this project. An agreement on that is expected to be signed.